Tuesday, July 16, 2013

US News - one of the three top US newsmagazines - just published as story about the upcoming Million American March Against Fear, scheduled for September 11th, 2013 in Washington, DC. ! I plan to be there - and will stay over in DC for the DC Conference over the weekend. See you there!-Kevin Barrett

The American Muslim Political Action Committee is hosting what it
hopes will be a gathering of one million people in Washington, D.C., on
the 12th anniversary of 9/11 to urge the government to reveal "the
truth" about the attacks.

"We want to hold President Obama accountable for his empty
promises of creating a transparent government," march organizer Isa
Hodge told U.S. News. "What exactly have we spent all our money, lost
lives and taken lives for? The entire record of the 9/11 Commission has
never been released."

Protesters will also denounce "FBI traps," "illegal tapping and
surveilling of Muslim Americans" and "media propaganda making the word
terrorist synonymous with Muslim," he said.

The march was announced as the "Million Muslim March" earlier this
year, but its name has since been changed to the "Million American March
Against Fear," according to Hodge.

The organizer said north-central Pennsylvania's Williamsport Tea
Party has joined with planners, in addition to groups that adhere to
conspiracy theories about the 9/11 attacks or oppose the National
Defense Authorization Act, which authorizes the president to approve
indefinite detentions.

"Depending on my work schedule, I will be attending the event," Nick
Defonte of the Williamsport Tea Party told U.S. News. "We all deserve to
be judged on our own merits, and that is precisely why I will show my
solidarity with peaceful, Constitution-loving citizens."

"We're waiting on Minister Louis Farrakhan [of the Nation of Islam]
to respond to our request," Hodge said. "His ministers below him are
interested in being involved, we're just waiting for Minister Farrakhan
to OK it."

Farrakhan keynoted the 1995 "Million Man March" and his group
provided much of the organizational muscle needed to deliver nearly one
million attendees to the National Mall for that event. U.S. News was
unable to reach the Nation of Islam for comment through its Final Call
newspaper.

Hodge said he's also trying to persuade former Texas Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, to attend.

One major Muslim advocacy group, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, will not be joining the event.

CAIR spokesman Corey Saylor told U.S. News his group definitely will
not participate, but expressed support in theory for the idea of a
"Million Muslim March."

AMPAC has applied for space on the National Mall for the
demonstration. The National Parks Service, according to Hodge, has
scheduled a July 28 phone conference about the request, citing "a few
questions" about the application.

The National Parks Service requires a permit for all large events on
the Mall, spokesman Carol Johnson told U.S. News. "We get lots of permit
applications daily, so availability is always changing," she said in an
email.

With the scheduled demonstration less than two months away, a Facebook event advertising
the march indicates attendance might be more than 999,000 short of one
million, although several ifs could bolster attendance. The event
encourages readers to "help us get the truth about 9/11."

Hodge has little patience for allegations of insensitivity in picking the date.

"There were Muslim firefighters, police officers, first responders,"
he said. "That day was not only an attack on Americans but a deeper
attack on Muslim Americans... we were not only victims but made
villains."